. . . The more you eat, the more you . . . well, live longer actually.

Headlines today are telling us that eating a Mediterranean diet full of beans, fruit, vegetables, and olive oil is miraculous for our health. Wait, so you mean fruits and vegetables are good for you? Who knew!?!?

Some of the (perhaps really not so startling after all) advantages of a vegetarian diet highlighted by recent studies include:

• More pulses (beans, peas, lentils etc) and less red meat = risk of cancer reduced by 12 percent
• More olive oil and less butter = lower incidence of heart disease, and cancer reduced by 9 percent
• Broccoli has also been found to reduce the risk of prostate cancer

Beans on toast anyone? Or maybe one of the recipes we shared the other day? Tuck in and live long!

Oh my goodness! I love it when someone sends me one recipe let alone 8!!! I totally have to share these with you – my personal favourite is the vegan quiche – sooooo nice! Without further ado, go and get breakfast made. What are you waiting for!! (you can of course invite me – only good cooks need apply!)c

Vegan Quiche

Vegan Quiche

1 onion
6 mushrooms
1 pepper
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp cooking oil to fry the veggies
250 g shortcrust pastry (try JusRol frozen pastry)
250 g plain or smoked tofu
Splash of soya milk
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/3 block vegan cheese (try Redwood’s or Sheese)
7 cherry tomatoes, halved

• Preheat the oven to 400°F/205°C.

• Chop the vegetables and garlic finely and fry in the oil over low heat until soft. Roll out the pastry or press into a quiche dish with your fingers. Blind bake in the oven for 5 minutes.

• Chop the tofu roughly and blend, along with the soya milk, salt and pepper, into a smooth paste in the blender.

• Remove the veggies from the heat and the quiche dish from the oven. Pour the blended tofu into the pan with the veggies and stir. You will see liquid rising from the vegetables, diluting the tofu mixture. Grate the soya cheese into the mixture until it stiffens. (Smoked tofu will require less “cheese” to stiffen than plain tofu.) Dollop the mixture into the pastry-lined quiche dish and garnish with the cherry tomatoes. Bake for about an hour or until brown on top.

Variations: Use any veggies you like. The recipe above is just a basic quiche. Try adding chopped faux bacon for extra flavour. If you prefer crunchy veggies, don’t precook them.

Sosmix Fry-Up

This English breakfast is easy and delicious – enjoy it after a night on the town or for a Sunday brunch.

1 small bowl of Sosmix (sausage substitute mix available at any whole-food shop), ready-mixed with water
1 onion, chopped
2 Tbsp. oil
2 tomatoes, quartered
6 mushrooms, chopped
2 pkgs Redwood Cheatin’ Rashers
1 small can baked beans
2 slices whole-wheat bread
Margarine (for the toast)

• Allow the Sosmix to stand for 10 minutes, then roll into “sosages” and set aside.

• Fry the onion in the oil in a frying pan. Add the tomatoes and sosages.

• Add the mushrooms and the Cheatin’ Rashers (if you can find any room!).

• Gently heat the beans in a separate pan.

• Toast the bread and spread on some margarine.

• Serve the fry-up on the bread. Enjoy!

Vegan Eggs Benedict

Create a gourmet breakfast with this vegan twist on a French classic.

For the Vegan Hollandaise Sauce:
6 ripe yellow tomatoes
50 ml extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for tossing with the tomatoes
1 tsp Dijon mustard
Pinch of white pepper
2 Tbsp white vinegar or wine vinegar
2 Tbsp vegan margarine
2 tsp arrowroot mixed with 60 ml cold water

• Preheat the oven to 300°F/150°C.

• Toss the tomatoes in some olive oil. Place on a baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes. Flip over and roast for another 30 minutes.

• Remove from the oven and place in a blender, pulsing to chop. Slowly add the 50 ml oil and the mustard, white pepper and vinegar, blending until fully emulsified. Strain through a sieve.

• Place the sauce in a medium sauté pan over medium heat. Add the vegan margarine and the arrowroot mixture and whisk until thickened. Taste and adjust the seasonings. (To save time, make the Vegan Hollandaise Sauce a day in advance and reheat for serving.)

For the ‘Eggs’ and ‘Bacon’:
3 Tbsp unbleached white flour
1 Tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
Pinch of turmeric
Garlic powder, to taste
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
450 g firm tofu, cut into 6 flat rounds (6 mm thick)
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
6 slices veggie bacon

• In a bowl, mix the flour, nutritional yeast, turmeric, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Dredge the tofu in the flour mixture and shake off any excess.

• In a medium pan, heat the vegetable oil over high heat. Fry each side of the tofu rounds until golden. Remove and place on paper towels to drain.

• In the same pan, cook the veggie bacon for 1 to 2 minutes on each side and set aside.

To Assemble:
6 whole-wheat English muffins
1 Tbsp vegan margarine
3 Tbsp minced fresh chives

• Toast the English muffins and spread with the vegan margarine. Top each half with one tofu round and one slice of the veggie bacon. Place on serving plates.

• Spoon the Vegan Hollandaise Sauce on top. Sprinkle with the chives and serve immediately.

Makes 6 servings

Breakfast Burritos

Making breakfast for picky eaters? Customise these burritos with salsa, soya cheese and shredded lettuce for a healthy, protein-packed start to your day.

6 whole-wheat tortillas
4 Tbsp vegetable oil, divided
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 onion, finely diced
450 g firm tofu, crumbled
1 handful chopped vegetables of your choice (try green onions, tomatoes, mushrooms and bell peppers)
1/8 tsp turmeric
Salt and pepper, to taste
Veggie sausage, crumbled
Tabasco or other hot sauce, optional

• Place the tortillas between two wet paper towels, wrap them in foil and heat them in the oven for 5 to 10 minutes at 200°F/93°C.

• In a large frying pan, heat 2 Tbsp of the vegetable oil over medium heat.

• Add the garlic and onion and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the tofu, vegetables, turmeric and salt and pepper and continue to cook over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes.

• Meanwhile, in another frying pan, heat the remaining oil, add the faux sausage and cook until the “sausage” is browned.

• Add the “sausage” to the tofu mixture and stir to combine.

• Scoop the mixture into the tortillas, fold them up and serve immediately.

• Serve with hot sauce.

Makes 6 servings

Tofu Scramble

1 packet firm tofu, drained and crumbled
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
125 g green pepper, chopped
125 g onion, chopped
75 g fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 tsp turmeric
75 to 125 ml barbecue sauce (optional)
50 g Bac-o-Bits (optional)
Salt and pepper, to taste

• Sauté the crumbled tofu in the oil until dry. Add the remaining ingredients and continue to cook for 5 to 10 minutes.

Makes 4 servings

Creamed ‘Beef’ on Toast

Start your day off right with this hearty recipe.

2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp non-dairy margarine
1 small onion, finely diced
100 g flour
1/2 litre soya milk
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
1 pkg faux ground beef
8 slices whole-wheat bread, toasted

• In a large sauté pan, heat the vegetable oil and non-dairy margarine over medium heat, add the onion and cook until the onion is translucent and soft. Add the flour and stir until it thoroughly coats the onion. Add the soya milk, salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce and whisk until the mixture is thick and bubbly.

• Reduce the heat to low, add the faux ground beef, stir, and cook for several minutes until the “beef” is heated through.

• Serve the creamed “beef” over slices of toast.

Makes 4 servings

Easy Peanut Butter Breakfast Wrap

Take five minutes in the morning to make a healthy meal to start your day.

6-8 Tbsp crunchy peanut butter
4 whole-grain flour tortillas
2 bananas, sliced
1 apple, thinly sliced
3 Tbsp raisins

• Spread one-fourth of the peanut butter on 1 tortilla. Layer one-fourth of the remaining ingredients on top.

• Roll tightly. Slice in half on a diagonal.

• Repeat until all the ingredients are used.

Makes 4 servings

Breakfast Parfait

Crunchy granola paired with creamy yogurt makes a delicious and healthy start to your day.

2 handfuls whole-grain granola
1 container vegan yogurt (vanilla or fruit flavoured)
1 banana, sliced
Sliced strawberries or raspberries

• In a tall glass, layer some of the granola, yogurt and fruit. Repeat until the glass is filled or all the ingredients are used.

Makes 1 serving

Your “vegan ingredients put together in a perfect combination” loving Matt!

Very, very angry this time..

So the Mail and the Independent printed an absurd story about a woman who fed her kids a nutritionally deficient, raw food diet. Okay, now that’s not unacceptable. Where I get angry is when they call it a VEGAN diet. C’mon, 99 percent of vegans eat cooked foods and every responsible medical and dietetic body in the world, including the British Dietetic Association, agrees that vegan diets are healthy for children and that studies indicate vegetarian and vegan kids tend to be healthier than meat-eating kids. They are far less likely to be overweight and are far more likely to eat their veggies, an essential part of good nutrition.

It has been reported on before about child obesity – relating to meat based diets – and there is no denying that the UK is going through an epidemic of childhood medical problems – this is happening daily yet one person doesn’t follow a diet properly and because people choose to see vegans/raw foodies as “holier than thou” for some bizarre reason, the article makes it into a national online newspaper (with a factually incorrect title I might add) What is this? Attack vegans month or something?

If this lady wanted to try to raise her kids on a raw diet – (although personally I think there’s no beating a cooked meal on a cold winter evening!) – shouldn’t she have done a better job of researching it? Rule one – if you are going to seriously take on a lifestyle - and raw food, vegan food, vegetarian living is a lifestyle, not a faddy diet - then the first step is to research – let’s face it, you wouldn’t drive a car without lessons, would unlikely be a genius with CRM’s, CMS’ or at CSS (Matt’s geekspeak!) without intensive training, you wouldn’t assume that something written in another language is the gospel truth without first understanding the language..  So why, OH WHY, would you have such a lax attitude towards implementing your dietary choice?

Anyway, are the Indy and the Mail in cahoots (or more likely, can you not find any other unhealthy vegans, guys – I mean c’mon??) Call me a cynic, but the whole thing smacks of poor observation of dietary requirements and an effort to somehow put down the vegan diet again, yawn…..zzzzzz

Your friendly ‘Knows 20+ year healthy vegans so there’ neighbourhood Matt

P.S. Not long to go now with the Morrissey tickets giveaway!!

I’m afraid I’m going to start getting all gushy on you now, and a little bit girlie, but I’ll try and keep it to a minimum for all of our sakes. Vegan online boutique, Bourgeois Boheme is opening a new store, yep you heard me right, a REAL store. It’s going to be in Richmond, London and I have the pleasure of attending the opening on 17th May. I do get around, don’t I? This is great news for men and women alike, and not even just of the vegan variety either.

I have been impressed with Bourgeois Boheme since they first popped onto the ethical fashion scene in 2005, bringing us fashionable shoes, bags and accessories that haven’t harmed our non-human friends. By developing their brand and becoming London’s first vegan fashion store, it proves just how popular animal-friendly fashion is and slaps furry companies such as Burberry in the proverbial face. As you can see from the photo here, they do a pretty good mock-snakeskin too. I bought a bag from BB last year (that they don’t do anymore – ha!) and it never ceases to draw in fans and green-eyed onlookers.

You may remember me telling you about a new vegan restaurant that’s opening in London called Saf, and how I was selflessly going to attend the pre-opening party to sample the goods. Well, I went and have this to report: It was amazing! I spent the evening sipping organic cocktails, and munching on canapés while mingling with the staff and chefs. Among the goodies were vegan cheesecake bites, veggie sushi, vegan caviar and more. When I say more, that’s an understatement. They certainly fed us well and I highly recommend you get yourselves down there after it’s opened officially, which is today. Next week’s outing, anyone? Here are some photos from the pre-opening party:

Boy, am I excited… I’ve just been invited to the pre-opening of a classy new, totally vegan classy restaurant in London. It’s called Saf and is headed up by master chef Chad Sarno, who promises “no hidden ingredients, no additives, and no agenda – simply authentic vegan food.” Now I don’t know about you, but that sounds delicious. My mouth is watering just thinking about it, so I’d best stop lest I ruin my computer. If you’re a PETA member, you can be in with a chance of attending the opening night yourself, just email Joanne and she’ll see what she can do! I’ll bring you a full, lip-licking report after the event, watch this space… In the meantime, read an interview with Chad to find out more about this much talked-about chef.

If you’re vegan, or heading that way, you know that it’s a great lifestyle – for the animals, the environment and your health. It now turns out that a dose of the good stuff could also help cases of arthritis (painful inflammation of the joints - no fun at all). According to the Daily Mail, ditching ‘bad cholesterol’ which is found in animal products, and munching down on a decent amount of fruit, veg and other natural vegan food boosts ‘levels of natural antibodies to fight compounds in the body that are implicated in rheumatoid arthritis’. Indeed.

Apparently, there are around 400,000 Britons suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. Now correct me if I’m wrong, but if those 400,000 people go vegan, that’s a LOT of soothed joints and a LOT of animals saved, don’tcha think?

The bold and courageous Janez Drnovsek, former president of Slovenia died this Saturday. He was a firm supporter of veganism and champion of animal rights, human rights and the environment, making him pretty cool in our books. He went vegetarian then vegan after an attack of cancer, and credits his new lease of life and bundles of energy following the ill health to a switch to the healthier (and more compassionate) lifestyle.

You can read more about Janez Drnovsek in an interview at the Animal Rights Croatia website.

Image: Animal Rights Croatia / Creative Commons

We all know that going veggie or vegan is the rock star thing to do and the past few days have seen an influx of articles on PETA celebrity legends and their compassionate diets. Morrissey reportedly pre-orders vegetarian meals for his roadies and will fire crew members if he catches them eating meat on tour, so says a former valet of his. Good for him, and I hope he never gives in to a single Big Mac wielding employee!

Bryan Adams has also been hitting the headlines with an insight into his oh-so-healthy vegan diet, which you can read in full here.

I love how simply he puts it: “I’m very slim due to my diet. When I see men and women my age with their guts hanging over their trousers I wish someone was able to explain the benefits of diet, and that they are likely to be toxic and blocked from the things they’ve eaten.” So true Bryan, so true.